Miniature switches having a dual-in-line configuration have previously been available, examples of such switches being disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,944,760, 3,958,090, 3,965,319, 3,978,298, 3,999,287 and 4,000,383. Other types of switches which have been made in a dual-in-line configuration include rotary switches having a printed circuit board in the shape of a rigid disk, the internal rotating mechanism to which the disk is mounted being rotatable either by means of a knurled rim or a trans-axial slot accessible by means of a screwdriver. One such switch is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,383.
Switches of the rotating disk type typically have certain disadvantages, among them being that the wiping contacts have different amounts of wear depending upon their radial position with respect to the axis of the disk. Additionally, because the space available for providing separate conductive tracks on a disk is much smaller toward the axis than it is toward the circumference, such switches are sensitive to minute misalignment problems which would alter the effective switch position.
A subminiature binary coded switch having a dual-in-line configuration, similar in size to the switch of the present invention, is sold by Electronic Engineering Company of California under the trade name Micro-Dip. This prior art switch does not employ a printed circuit board but instead has a series of longitudinally stacked cams which selectively open loosely mounted contacts from their associated fixed terminals with which they are normally in contact.